As a conventional authentication device that identifies an operator, there is known a device (for example, see Patent Document 1) in which the side surface of a portable telephone is provided with a sensor that reads biometric information such as a vein shape, a pulse wave, and a finger print of the finger of the operator, and the information read by the sensor is transmitted to a user management system including a WEB server and a management server, thereby performing the authentication of the operator.
However, in the sensor adopted in this device, no specific configuration is disclosed to know how to read (image) the biometric information regarding the vein and the like of the finger of the operator by the configuration.
As another identifying device, there is known a device (for example, see Patent Document 2) in which a light source that irradiates an infrared light and a visible light on the finger of the operator respectively, a dicroic mirror that separates the light from the finger into the visible light and the infrared light, a lens arranged at the back of the dicroic mirror, a CCD (imaging element) arranged at the back of the lens and the like are provided, and by imaging a blood vessel image of the finger, it is compared with the registered blood vessel image, thereby performing an individual authentication.
However, in this device, the number of components is large, and the structure is complicated, and it is difficult to mount this device on a portable telephone and the like.
As still another identifying device, there is known a device (for example, see Patent Document 3), in which an irradiating unit comprising a light source and an optical fiber to irradiate an illumination light on the finger of the operator, a visible light cut filter that cuts the visible light from the white light transmitting the finger, and a lens and a CCD and the like arranged at the back of the visible light cut filer are provided, and the blood vessel image of the finger is imaged by the CCD, and it is compared with the registered blood image, thereby performing the individual authentication.
However, since this device is configured to have the infrared light always impinge into the CCD (imaging element), even when the CCD can be used only for imaging the blood vessel image, when an ordinary object is imaged, the freshness of the image is reduced, and it is difficult to apply the CCD as an ordinary digital camera (imaging device).
On the other hand, in the ordinary digital camera, while an infrared light cut filter that shields the infrared light is arranged in front of the CCD (imaging element), in the configuration having both this infrared light cut filter and the above-mentioned visible light cut filter, it is difficult to clearly image the blood vessel image and the like, and the structure becomes complicated, which leads to the increase in the device size and high cost.
Patent Document 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-344375
Patent Document 2: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-203452
Patent Document 3: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-21373